In Halo 3, Bungie introduced equipment, which allowed for some interesting new strategies, but their transient nature (that is, one-time uses) really didn't lend them to becoming an integral part of combat. Now, with the rechargeable Armor Abilities, you can effectively utilize a fourth tactic in the aforementioned Golden Triangle to increase your odds of survival. So now, instead of simply thinking, "shoot, 'nade, melee," you should be thinking, "Active Camo, shoot, melee," "sprint, melee, shoot," "shoot, jetpack, 'nade," or perhaps even "hologram, 'nade, snipe." Of course, using the right grenades and weapons according to your target's position and movement is still important, but throwing in the odd Armor Ability helps to mix things up.

2. Only DumbAsses Assassinate

Reach includes a new feature which allows the player to stylishly assassinate (one-hit-kill) an enemy if they are caught unawares. By holding down the melee button instead of tapping it, the camera will pan out briefly to show your Spartan or Elite performing a killing flourish. While nice to look at, the drawn-out assassination animations only serve to make you immobile, and therefore, a perfect target for a second or two. That may not seem like much, but it's plenty of time for another player to lob a grenade at your feet or put your head in their sniper scope -- all while you can do nothing to avoid it. So, if you do happen to catch someone not looking, give them a swift punch or rifle-butt to the back of the head -- the effect is just as deadly, and it also buys you an extra second's worth of maneuvering.

3. Paintjobs Matter

Have you ever been playing on a map composed of mostly grays, browns and greens where you are constantly aware of the guy or gal running around in bright pink, yellow, or purple armor? If you're noticing them more often, isn't it likely that everyone else is too? As intimated in tip #4, being noticed more often correlates directly with being killed more often. Thus, it's probably a good idea to stay away from the bright armor colors and go with something that will blend in with the environment a bit more. Like assassinations, bright colors are a cool way of making a statement, but completely useless if you're trying to up your game.

4. Don't be Ashamed to Run

Just as it is important to know when to charge an opponent to finish off a kill, it's also crucial to know when you are outgunned. If you get hit with a grenade, sniper shot or explosive round, it's often better to find some cover rather than your attacker. Running around a corner or ducking behind a wall not only puts you out of their line of fire, but also gives you a moment to figure out where they were most likely attacking from. With this information, you can try to set up a trap either by crouching in a corner and waiting for them to come barreling around it, or by tossing a well-timed grenade to the spot you think they will be in a few seconds.
If you're being actively chased, a good strategy is to run through a door or around some otherwise solid object that you can lob a grenade into, letting it bounce directly back toward you. If you time it right, you'll run right past the explosion while your antagonist will receive the full force of it. Then, you can calmly turn and place a bullet or fist (your choice) into their face to finish the job. At this point, teabagging to rub it in is completely optional.

5. Regarding Trash Talk

While there's nothing wrong with a quick and friendly match among friends, it's never as satisfying to say "good game" as it is to blurt "stuck ya, noob!" This strategy won't likely make you any new friends on Xbox Live, but it can be an effective psychological tool. If your opponent is too busy fuming about your ceaseless taunting, he will be less likely to employ sound strategies. Of course, this can backfire catastrophically if you tease the wrong player; like, say, someone much better than you who will then hunt you tirelessly for the rest of the match.
If you do choose to engage in some trash talking, please at least make sure it's mostly benign. Not only will shouting racial epithets or questioning another player's sexual orientation not make you any friends, it can also get you banned. Just remember to keep it clean.

Halo has always been a game of balance. Knowing when it is or isn't appropriate to fire off a round, throw a fist, or toss a grenade is the first and most important lesson you need to learn. Obviously, you shoot an enemy that's far away rather than trying to connect with a melee attack, but you could do more damage with a well-placed grenade instead. Depending on your opponent's vicinity to a wall or explosive, you may want to soften them up with a frag and then finish them off with a well-placed D.M.R. headshot. If you're in a close-quarters firefight and nearing the end of your clip, try to close the distance and connect with a melee attack instead of reloading. Note that there are now Armor Abilities which allow a fourth layer to your strategy, but we'll cover those in more depth below.

2. Learn Your Loadouts

A new feature to the series, Loadouts allow you to choose your Armor Ability and main weapon at the start of a match and at each respawn thereafter. Weigh your options based on several factors: The map you're playing on, the kind of strategy other players (both teammates or opponents) are choosing, and perhaps most importantly, the weapons and Armor Abilities you're most comfortable with. Every situation will call for a different set of weapons and skills, so don't just stick with one loadout all the time, unless, of course, you're dominating with it.

3. Know Your Grenades

While Halo 3 mixed things up a bit by introducing spike and flame grenades, Halo: Reach has gone back to tried-and-true combination of frags and stickies, and knowing what situation to use each is vital. The humans' fragmentation grenades behave a bit like a hard rubber ball: bouncing slightly as they hit an object -- whether that be the floor, a wall or another player -- before exploding in a fairly wide radius. Plasma, or "sticky" grenades act sort of like a wet sponge, plopping against walls and falling straight down, coming to a rapid stop when thrown toward the floor, and sticking to other players when making direct contact (the point where that wet sponge analogy falls apart). It's important to judge whether your enemy is a candidate to receive a non-direct hit (for splash damage that can significantly reduce their shields), or if they can be easily stuck with a plasma, ensuring an instant kill.
Of course, you can't hone your skills in grenade throwing if you don't have any at your disposal, so always take a step or two out of your planned path to pick any up that you see lying on the battlefield.

4. Be Sneaky

A lot of people you come up against in Halo follow the old "run in guns blazing" approach, which can work quite well if they can keep a fast pace, but more often than not, this simply puts them in their enemies' crosshairs. There are two advantages to being sneaky: One, you'll be able to pick off the nuts hopping around spraying bullets in all directions, and two, they likely won't kill you, because you're, well, hiding. With the inherit time limits of each round, it's tempting to try and hunt down every player as quickly and as often as possible, but if you can find a few good dark corners, move effectively while crouching (which also hides you on radar), and possibly employ active camo, you'll find that patience is rewarding. All of the other players may jump out ahead of you at the beginning, but just remember the old adage, "slow and steady wins the race."

5. Learn the Maps and Weapon Placements

This tip is kind of a given. If your opponent knows the map better than you, they will have a tactical advantage that outstrips pure skill. Therefore, it is paramount that you get to know the maps. Try creating a private, non-joinable party, and simply run around the levels alone, making mental notes of good hiding and ambush spots as well as weapon placement. While loadouts decrease the amount of people running to grab the shotgun when they can simply choose to spawn with it, there are still "power weapons" scattered about that can quickly turn the tide of battle. When you do jump into some real matches, don't get aggravated when someone scores a kill that seemed to be somehow magical. Instead, try to figure out if they took advantage of the terrain in some way, had a weapon you didn't know about, or simply spawned conveniently. Knowing immediately where you are after each spawn, where to go, and what's around you can mean the difference between first and last.

In case you didn't know, "Halo: Reach" launches tonight, and if you're one of the many people that will call in sick tomorrow, you're probably wondering how best to take advantage of your sick day and unlock as much as possible in a short amount of time. For that reason, thought I'd put together five quick tips for earning plenty of credits, thereby unlocking new armor pieces and other doodads.1) PLAY ONLINE
You don't need to be playing with other people, but just make sure you're hooked up to Xbox Live whenever you're playing "Reach." The reason for this? Challenges. Challenges are mini-objectives like "Kill 100 grunts with headshots" or "Stick 5 plasma grenades on enemy Elites." Completing these will earn you credit boosts, but based on my initial testing, you can't complete challenges when you're offline. Also, there's a maximum number of credits you can bring from your offline profile when you switch it over to an online profile, so you may end up losing a chunk of your work if you're not on Xbox Live from the get-go.2) PLAY THE CAMPAIGN (On Heroic or Legendary, if possible)
Every mode in "Halo: Reach" earns you credits, and that includes the campaign. If you leave campaign scoring off (the default), you'll get no indication that you're earning money, but you definitely are. Every kill, every medal, every mission completed factors in to how much cash you earn, and higher difficulties like Heroic or Legendary will boost that even further. I played through most of the campaign on Legendary with a buddy and by the time the credits rolled I had ranked up five or six times, and was half-way to Warrant Officer.
Launch week also has a Challenge: "Complete 9 missions on Heroic." This is something most people should be able to manage, especially if you're playing in co-op. The credit bonus is a cool 5,000.
Don't think you need to keep getting crushed in online multiplayer to earn credits. The campaign is one of the best money-makers there is.

3) PLAY ROCKETFIGHT
Now that Firefight supports matchmaking, Bungie has included a variety of different modes to pick from. Rocketfight is one of those matchmaking modes, and it equips all players with unlimited rockets. The match only lasts 12 minutes, but in that time you're sure to get tons of multi-kills as you send Grunts flying into the stratosphere. And because there's no penalty for death, you're guaranteed to make it to the end, raking in a solid number of credits.4) DON'T QUIT
There are many reasons you shouldn't quit out of multiplayer games early. For one thing, if you keep doing it, you'll eventually be placed on probation, and the next time you quit out early you'll be blocked from Matchmaking for 15 minutes.
An even better reason not to quit is the Match Finished bonus, which is oftentimes the largest credit boost you'll get from an online multiplayer battle. Quitting early forfeits that cash, leaving you with nada. You'll also miss out in the slot machine bonus, which randomly awards a bunch of credits at the end of the match. This bonus starts at 10 credits, but I've seen it go as high as 1,000. Patience is a virtue.5) MIND YOUR COMMENDATIONS
Commendations are different from Challenges in that they don't change every day or week. Instead, Commendations keep track of your lifetime stats and offer you rewards for hitting certain milestones. Getting 10 assassinations in matchmaking, for example, will net you a cool credit bonus and the Real Admiral (Iron) badge. The next level requires 25 assassinations, but offers up an even bigger bonus.
Keeping track of your commendations (viewable in the pause menu or on Bungie.net) allows you to see when you're able to get to the next level and adjust your play-style appropriately. But because there are dozens of commendations, you'll probably find yourself unlocking them without even expecting it.

Following a critically acclaimed and widely successful release on September 14th, 2010, Halo Reach went on to instantly break the record for the most concurrent users on the Xbox Live network at one time. Halo Reach currently stands to become the most popular video game of the year, and one of the reasons for its continued success is down to its flawless multiplayer system. However, given the sheer number of players on the multiplayer network at one time, especially those who have been long-term players of the previous games in the series, exactly how can a player, veteran or alike, hope to succeed in the competitive nature of the online warfare aspect of Halo Reach?

The first tip to success when it comes to a multiplayer guide for Halo: Reach is simply to keep your wits about you. A new feature introduced to the game will allow you to have a wide variety of different armour choices, all of which have their own unique aspects and benefits to your gameplay experience which can effectively improve your chances of survival on the online Halo Reach network. The “Hologram” will allow you to spawn a dummy which can in turn trick players into attacking you at your “spawn”, while it will simply be a hologram giving you the chance to either strike or flee. Another armour aspect allows you to become completely invincible while being unable to move. This can unlock the door for defensive and strategic aspects of the game as you can pose as a decoy, while your allies go in for the kill.
The strategic aspect of the Halo Reach online multiplayer mode is arguably the main key to success. Those that go at the opponent alone are much more likely to suffer as a result. Band together with your team or ally solely with your group of friends and come up with strategies to invade the enemy lines and subsequently rack up the points. Teaming together with your allies is the main key to success and if both teams utilize this to their advantage, you can essentially be on the verge of the most intense and adrenaline fuelled multiplayer gameplay ever.
Weapons however play a role of utter importance in the Halo Reach game just as they have in previous titles. You have the ability to change weapons before the battle to your preferred favourites and you can find weapons along the way, all with their own unique benefits that when combined with the cooperation of your allies, can prove to make your team or group a viable enemy for the opponent.
Needless to say, the multiplayer aspect of Halo Reach truly is the most flawless in the entire Halo series to date. Featuring new and updated aspects such as increase customization, the ability to earn “credits” and spend them on new armour and equipment along with countless new game modes and subsequent opportunities for strategic, cooperative and competitive gameplay alike, it is no surprise that on its first day of release, Halo Reach powered into the charts and immediately broke the record for the most concurrent users online at one time. The main keys to success in the multiplayer universe of Halo Reach are simple; keep your wits about you, utilize strategic gameplay and communicate and cooperate with your team, and you will soon embark on the path of success as a result.

Top 5 Tips For Halo Reach Multiplayer

Want to get better at Halo Reach online? Who doesn’t? Follow our handy top 5 tips and improve your scores.5. Learn To Drive The Vehicles
No one wants to be the guy who jumps into a Banshee then crashes it straight into his teammates. Take time, in Forge if you have to, to learn the nuances of every vehicle. Most people can rattle a Warthog around a map, but can you do the same with a Falcon? Get learning.4. Learn Where the Weapons Are
Even more important is the placement of the power weapons. Even if you’re not a demon with a Sniper Rifle or Rocket Launcher, keeping them away from the opposition is vital. Ask your teammates, get searching and quickly learn where everything is. As the multiplayer community evolves, these will become more and more prominent in every fight.3. Use Your Armour Abilities
And know which ones to use where. If you’re playing Headhunter, you need speed, so Sprint or Jetpack is vital. If you’re in a game of DMRs on a bog map, using the hologram effectively can make the difference. One thing though – if you’re not using your armour ability, change it. They’re too important to waste.2. Listen!
There are so many clues in Halo Reach’s audio. Grenades whistle as they come close, and if you have a good sound setup, you should be able to work out where they are just from the sound they make. Likewise, Sprinting players make a lot of noise, so keep those ears open.1. Look For The Shield Pop
Many of the above tips can be applied to previous Halos, but this one cannot. In Reach, when you take down someone’s shield, you’ll hear and see it ‘pop’. This means the enemy is open to attack. A headshot from a DMR or pistol will finish them off, as will a melee attack. It takes out so much of the confusion and frustration of a Halo duel, and there’s a chance your opponent doesn’t know this yet. Take advantage, Spartan.